


Searing

by stainedglassdaredevil



Series: Kingdom Come [1]
Category: Daredevil (Comics)
Genre: Angst, Childhood Memories, Childhood Trauma, Original Character-centric
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-20
Updated: 2019-03-20
Packaged: 2019-11-26 02:37:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,306
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18174722
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stainedglassdaredevil/pseuds/stainedglassdaredevil
Summary: For some, summer never ends. It stretches on into a memory that brands you for life.





	Searing

The only reprieve from the sweltering heat was the shade given by the trees lining the sidewalk. Every time they passed beneath one of them, they breathed a sigh of relief and steeled themselves to withstand the blistering sun once more. They were only a block from their house, but it might as well have been a thousand.

“Told you we shouldn’t have gone to the park,” Mattison grumbled. This was exactly why she didn’t humour her brother. Judging from all his stupid ideas, she must have absorbed his share of brain cells in the womb. 

“Shut up,” he said. “You wanted to go too.” It was true; climbing to the very top of the jungle gym and leaping off was the only valuable pastime in the world. However, seeing as it was his idea to begin with, Matt was responsible for her misery. Mattie would have argued this point further if sweat wasn’t dripping into her eyes and blinding her.

They trudged along silently, trying to remember what air conditioning felt like and plotting ways to get to their apartment’s only shower before their sibling could. Through all their agony the day’s one saving grace was at the forefront of their mind: ice cream. Before leaving the house they’d managed to wheedle two dollars from their dad, which would be used to buy them both large chocolate ice cream cones if an ice cream truck happened to come by. 

“Let’s stop,” Matt suggested. Without any further prompting they both collapsed onto the sidewalk in the shade of a particularly leafy tree. They fanned their faces with their hands to substitute the nonexistent breeze and wiped the sweat from their necks. 

A ladybug landed on Mattie’s knee, flicked its wings a little, and began crawling up her thigh. Childish excitement bubbled up inside her at the sight; everyone knew ladybugs landing on you was good luck. In truth, she didn’t really believe it anymore than she believed blacks cats or broken mirrors were bad luck, but it was interesting nonetheless to watch it crawl about. Mattie turned to Matt, intent on bragging about it, when a thought suddenly struck her: Matt would try to take the ladybug. He’d want to hold it and examine it more closely, or maybe he’d just take it to spite her. 

“Look!” Matt cried, pointing across the street. An ice cream truck was playing its music and turning round the corner, steadily moving away from them. Both of them quickly leaped to their feet.

“Do you have the money?” Mattie asked eagerly. Her face fell when Matt pulled a single damp dollar from his pocket. If she hadn’t been glaring at the lone bill, she would have seen the shock and disappointment that crossed Matt’s face. 

“I don’t know where the other one is, I must have lost it,” Matt said apologetically. “We can share.”

“No we can’t! I was supposed to get my own, and you said you would hold onto the money,” she hissed. “Give me that.” Mattie snatched the dollar from his hand and took off running, ignoring him shouting after her. 

The ice cream truck had disappeared from view, but if it was anywhere it was parked outside the YMCA on the next street over. Every kid whose parents had any money let them spend their afternoons there while they went to work. Mattie had never even been inside.

There was something oddly thrilling about being able to fly down the sidewalk with no one around to stop her. Everything in the world seemed to become quiet, every single sound dulled except for the thud of her feet on the pavement and the soft whistling of the air past her ears. Mattie cut across the street before the crosswalk, aiming for a large gap in the stopped traffic. 

Something hit her back hard enough to knock the air from her lungs. She hit the asphalt without a sound, smashing her forehead on the ground with nothing more than a quiet gasp. It felt like everything was bleeding: her eyes, her ears, her nose, her mouth; even the air was thick with the scent of it. One hand reached up to wipe the wetness from her face and came away free of blood. More sweat had dripped into her eyes, where a painful stinging had erupted.

“Matt? Mattie? Oh God, oh God! Move, move! Get out of my way, that's my son!” Mattie instinctively turned her head towards the only familiar voice. 

“Dad?” she croaked. “Dad, I'm over here.” Jack's familiar, comforting frame came closer. Through all the chaos he was like a beacon of light, piercing through her haze of pain and confusion. In that moment, Mattie could have mistaken him for an angel. 

He ran past her. Ignoring her aching neck and the increasingly unbearable pain in her eyes, Mattie turned to follow the movement. Blood pooled around his feet, but he knelt anyways, reaching to embrace a small figure on the ground. 

“Help! Somebody help me! Oh my God, please no, _please!_ Somebody help us!” 

“Dad? Dad, my eyes hurt,” Mattie said hoarsely. She coughed harshly, spitting up something foul tasting and trying to turn onto her side. Tears filled her eyes and spilled down her cheeks, though it little to relieve the agony. 

“Dad please, Dad help me!” Mattie cried. The liquid was all over her hands, her cheeks, dripping down onto her neck. She fumbled for the hem of her shirt and desperately scrubbed at her eyes with the sodden material. “It burns! Dad my eyes, my eyes hurt!” The edges of her vision were beginning to blur. 

Mattie reached towards her father, willing him to turn and see her. As if he could hear her thoughts he suddenly turned, revealing who he was kneeling beside. 

It took her a moment to connect the twisted, bloodied flesh with what had once been her brother. Every inch of him had been mangled and crushed almost beyond recognition. Vacant eyes stared at her without remorse, refusing to look away even as she screamed in horror. 

It was the last thing Mattison Murdock ever saw: her brother's broken body spread across the pavement, oozing dark red blood onto the black road. 

It was almost half past midnight but Mattie only had a few more pages to annotate before she would be done with her assignment. Down the hall two coeds had begun sneakily making out in an empty study room, and the noises were beginning to distract her. Probably because she knew who both of them were. 

Mattie retraced the words in front of her at least five times before they made any sense. Finally she surrendered to the inevitable and packed her things early, swearing to herself she'd finish it all before it was due Monday. Whatever her study partner chose to do wasn't her problem; Kirsten's decision to blow her off for Marci Stahl automatically invalidated any claim she had to Mattie's notes. 

She made it halfway out the building before Kirsten caught up with her. 

“Hey, where are you going? Aren't you coming out with us?” 

“No, not tonight; I have things to do,” she said shortly. To her irritation, Kirsten laughed.

“Like what? Sleeping? Reorganizing your bookshelves? C'mon, it'll be fun,” she said brightly. “You need to get out more.”

“Thanks, but I'll pass.” 

“We're going out for ice cream, don't—”

“No, I _don't!_ ” Mattie snapped. “I don't want any fucking ice cream, Kirsten. I already told you no, so just leave me alone.” 

Mattie stomped out of the library and slammed the doors with unnecessary force. But it didn't matter how loud she was. Every gunshot, car crash, breaking window, and explosion she would ever hear would never be loud enough, because she could still hear them. 

She always heard them. 

**Author's Note:**

> For Belle. I hope you liked it! <3


End file.
